BANGKOK – Tainted food, plastic pollution and the environment – these are a number of the top concerns women have as consumers and investors, according to a study released by the USAID Green Invest Asia project and Moxie Future on women’s preferences and behaviors toward sustainable investment and business – a growing, multi-trillion dollar marketplace.

“We have two powerful forces – the advance of women’s economic empowerment and the transformative rise of a sustainability marketplace. How those forces interact is an important question,” said Angela Hogg, USAID Regional Development Mission for Asia Environment Office Director. “At USAID we promote inclusive economic growth by identifying opportunities for women in agribusiness and encouraging partners to invest more responsibly.”  

Multiple business case and academic studies, including a 2011 landmark World Economic Forum study, have come to a similar conclusion: sustainability sells. Particularly with women, said Caterina Meloni, USAID Green Invest Asia’s gender and social inclusion advisor.  “Women read the fine print. They are looking for the best ways to deploy their money to protect their family’s health, their land’s longevity, their community’s well-being.”

The authors interviewed close to 3,000 women in Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam in one of the largest studies to date on the female sustainability economy in Southeast Asia. The survey sought to learn how women act on sustainability priorities, what affects their decisions and what is missing in the marketplace. Globally, women control on average 75 percent of household consumption.

Among the findings:

• Among the top priorities for women with their purchases is that a product comes from sustainable sources, followed by recyclable packaging.
• For 83 percent of women responding from Indonesia and the Philippines, product selection depends on what is written on packaging.
• Women’s top requests included products that help consumers reduce their environmental footprint, products with clearly displayed information about a company’s environmental and social standards and brands taking steps to help the environment.
• Women want to invest in socially-responsible companies (88 percent of women surveyed) and more products made with women in mind (71 percent of women surveyed).
• Less than half of women surveyed in Singapore are satisfied with sustainable food options.

Women in Vietnam were the most active in the countries surveyed in considering social and environmental impacts of purchasing decisions; 23 percent avoid products that give cause for concern over food safety and the environment through wasteful, non-recyclable materials.

USAID Green Invest Asia is a climate finance initiative that partners with companies and investors to promote investment into sustainable agriculture or forestry in Southeast Asia. The project also provides expertise in gender analysis and diversity policies, identifies women opportunities in agribusiness and helps increase outreach to women's markets. All of these help companies access premium markets and green finance.

Access the study here: https://greeninvestasia.com/research/